No words at 14 months

[Anonymous]

Hi! My baby has no words yet at 14 months. She is meeting all other milestones -- she can wave back at you, imitate actions like clapping, tries to use things the right way (like putting a hairbrush on her hair and trying to brush it), and she babbles a lot and sometimes imitates sounds, but no words, not even a clear "Mama." Is this normal?

[Anonymous]

Does she have an unclear Mama sound that you recognize? I’m asking because if she has a recognizable Mama or regular sounds for other things/peopke, this counts as words even if they aren’t accurate.

[Anonymous]

My son didn't start talking tell close to 2 years old . We had him working with birth to 3 . His pediatrician thought he was tongue tied and my ex wanted to get his tongue clipped. I was not sure he was tied and took him to an ent doctor who said he was fine. We had his hearing checked and that was good. We did nothing and waited . He's now 5 and talking fine for the most part . Give him time.

[Anonymous]

That is totally normal. Early intervention will start being interested if there are no sounds/words at 18 months and won't do any interventions until there are no words at 22-24 months. You might have friends with early talkers that you are comparing her to, but she isn't even yet a late talker herself.

[Anonymous]

It could be normal and she's just a late talker, or it could be the early sign of an issue.

If you talk to her pediatrician, and then get assistance from one of the programs that work with kids with speech delays and it turns out she was just a late talker...no harm done. But if it is an early sign of an issue the early intervention can be a huge lifelong benefit.

[Anonymous]

Does she make animal sounds, like moo and meow? At this age, those count as words. Also, words count even if she mispronounces them if the meaning is clear. Does she greet people when you have company? If so, she is talking even if it’s nothing particularly meaningful. Even at 18 months, it’s much more important that children have receptive language (can follow verbal prompts and commands) than expressive language (using words to communicate something to someone else). I was a SAHM who spent practically every minute with my twins. They didn’t call me anything for the longest time because they had no trouble getting my attention without saying mama/mommy. Not only was mama not one of their first words, but I don’t think they used it until they were speaking in sentences.

[Anonymous]

Ba is a word for example if your baby points to the bottle or a ball and is saying "ba" to identify that object. I think it would be pretty rare for a 14 month old to say bottle or ball. Sounds like your daughter is totally normal.

[Anonymous]

My son didn't make a single sound other than crying until he was 18 months old. We started early intervention and private speech at 15 months. Reach out to professionals, it will calm your mom stress if nothing else! He's now a very typical 11 year old!

[Anonymous]

Have you tried private audiology testing? Ours was a late talker because she could not hear well due to fluid the pedi and county hearing testing did not pick up.

[Anonymous]

I’d see an audiologist.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't hurt to call Early Intervention in your state/county. It's locally run so google it for where you live.

2nd the audiology.

[Anonymous]

The fact that she babbles a lot and imitates sounds is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ba is a word for example if your baby points to the bottle or a ball and is saying "ba" to identify that object. I think it would be pretty rare for a 14 month old to say bottle or ball. Sounds like your daughter is totally normal.

She gestures, waves, points, and is pretty good at nonverbal communication, but I don't think she says any sounds that she has assigned a consistent meaning. She often points to birds, butterflies, ceiling fans, and other things up high like the sky as viewed through windows by saying Ba or Da but I don't know if that counts...? Maybe Ba/Da means "thing that is up in the air"? Or just, "Look at that!" Is that too vague to count as a word?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that she babbles a lot and imitates sounds is wonderful.

She has repeated some simple words like Boom but does not know what they mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ba is a word for example if your baby points to the bottle or a ball and is saying "ba" to identify that object. I think it would be pretty rare for a 14 month old to say bottle or ball. Sounds like your daughter is totally normal.

She gestures, waves, points, and is pretty good at nonverbal communication, but I don't think she says any sounds that she has assigned a consistent meaning. She often points to birds, butterflies, ceiling fans, and other things up high like the sky as viewed through windows by saying Ba or Da but I don't know if that counts...? Maybe Ba/Da means "thing that is up in the air"? Or just, "Look at that!" Is that too vague to count as a word?

That probably is too vague, but it doesn’t mean anything is wrong. She sounds like she’s on track.

You can play dumb when she wants something and try to get her to tell you what she wants by pretending you don’t understand. Offer her two options. Do you want milk or water? Really enunciate the two words. Also, exposing her to slightly older kids who talk may get her to imitate them.